Abu Mazen and the "Prisoners' Document" – A Man of Peace?

Yoram EttingerStraight from the Jerusalem Cloakroom #192, June 25, 2006

1. Five leading terrorists compiled the "Prisoners' Document", which has been embraced by Abu Mazen: Fatah's Marwan Barghouti, serving 5 terms of life imprisonment, Hamas' Abd Al-Khaliq Al-Natsheh, Islamic Jihad's Bassam Al- Saadi, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine's Abd Al-Rahim Mallouh and Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine's Mustafa Badarneh.

2. The goal of the "Document" is to restore coordination between the PLO and Hamas, while adhering to the fundamentals of the Palestinian attitude toward the "Zionist Entity". The goal is not to advance peace with Israel, but to clarify that "Palestinian Unity" supersedes any agreement signed with Israel.

3. The “Claim of Return” by Palestinian refugees to the pre-1967 area of Israel, is emphasized 5 times in the "Document". The "Claim of Return" is a euphemism for the inadmissibility of the Jewish State.

4. The Stage-by-Stage Policy, which was adopted by the PLO in 1974, has been reaffirmed. The "document" calls for the establishment of an independent PalestinianState, in the "1967 area", without withdrawing claims to the "Pre-1967 area" - a provisional stage/accord.

5. Terrorism is encouraged by calling for the "widening the circles of resistance" and for the "release of all prisoners" held by Israel "by all means". These prisoners are held for terrorism and not for theft and burglary. Precedents determine that the terms "by all means" and "resistance" are code words for terrorism, including the abduction of Israelis as bargaining chips.

6. Homicide Bombing is Heralded by urging support of "those who bore the burden of resistance, in particular the martyrs' families". "Martyrs" is a common reference, by Palestinians, to homicide bombers.

7. PLO-Hamas cooperation is highlighted by calling for the implementation of the March 2005 Cairo Accord, which was the latest in a series of PLO-Hamas understandings, engineered by Abu Mazen since the signing of the Oslo Accord. The understandings state that "Palestinian Unity" and Palestinian national claims - especially the "claim of return" - supersede any accord with Israel.

8. Abu-Mazen is the architect of Palestinian hate-education in schools, mosques and official media - the most authentic reflection of his vision, and a manufacturing line of homicide-bombing. Notwithstanding Abu Mazen's seemingly moderate appearance, his embrace of the "Prisoners' Document" has reaffirmed the fundamentals of his own hate-education: idolizing homicide bombers, the "claim of return", terrorism and the inadmissibility of the Jewish State.